The Sun in the Corner
by PurpleHedgehogSkies
Summary: The fact that she is his still tugs pleasantly on his heartstrings, because she is the puzzle piece he'd always needed to finish the bright yellow sun in the corner. Of course, he has lost pieces, and there are some pieces he hasn't found yet…but she is the sun. Everlark AU. A story set after my multi-chaptered fic Where Her Heart Should Be.
1. Sunshine and Summer

Katniss hates shopping. There are many pastimes that she hates, but shopping is pretty high up on the list. Dressing rooms with gum stuck in the corners, too-big blouses or too-tight pants. Hearing the hangers click together on the rack and watching the cashier handle her clothes and type away on the register as if she could do it in her sleep.

And yet she still wants to go. Johanna will be there, and Cinna as well, and Peeta will be the odd one out. He fiddles with the radio as he waits for her in the driveway, switching stations constantly. The result is a choppy mash-up of old songs, new songs, and advertisements between songs.

He dials her phone number and waits. She picks up and says, "I'm coming, I'm coming. I can't help that I—" she cuts herself off. "Never mind, you don't need to know that. Anyway, I'm putting my shoes on as we speak."

She hangs up before he can even open his mouth. In a moment, she emerges from the house wearing a pair of shorts and a university shirt that matches the one balled up in his glove compartment. He's been meaning to give that back to her, but it smells nice and he hasn't had the opportunity. He watches her lock the door behind her and jog down her porch steps, through her maze-like front garden, and finally out the gate and onto the driveway beside his car. Katniss slides smoothly into the front seat and buckles up, thought he belt catches on her first try.

"You hate shopping," he reminds her as he shifts to reverse and peers over the back of the seats. Katniss props her feet up in front of her as Peeta backs out of the driveway.

"It's not for me. It's for Jo and Cinna. Friend shopping is different," she says as she picks at a hangnail on her thumb.

"So how come I have to go?"

She laughs. "Because you're my ride."

He nods in understanding. Katniss's mother and sister have been using her car for driving practice, so Peeta has pretty much taken a second job as a chauffeur. Except that he isn't really getting paid. He doesn't mind—it's Katniss, his favorite girl in the world. The fact that she is his still tugs pleasantly on his heartstrings, because she is the puzzle piece he'd always needed to finish the bright yellow sun in the corner. Of course, he has lost pieces, and there are some pieces he hasn't found yet…but she is the sun.

And here she is in his passenger seat, with summer clinging to her skin, humming along to the radio and still picking at her thumb. The radio sings _she's nothing short of lovely_ and it somehow fits just how he feels.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asks, looking over at him.

"No," he smiles hugely, and Katniss lights up. He likes how his happiness immediately throws a switch in her and makes her smile. He doesn't know anyone else who can do that for her, except Prim. "I don't mind. Anything for you, my lady."

"This is a Buick," she says, patting the seat, "not a white horse."

"And yet, I'm still prince charming."

* * *

The Panem City Mall is not particularly crowded nor is it particularly desolate. The number of shoppers is just right, Peeta thinks, but he isn't really the one doing the shopping. He just tags along and carries the crinkling plastic bag that holds a book on Michelangelo that he couldn't resist buying at the Barnes and Noble. Johanna leads the pack with confident, swinging hips, wearing a long purple dress that matches the tips of her super-short haircut. Cinna and Katniss walk arm-in-arm behind her, with Cinna making remarks about his surroundings and Katniss nodding in her agreement. They admire and critique the manikins in the shop windows as they weave through groups of shoppers.

Peeta brings up the rear. He doesn't know things about fashion, or how to find his way around a mall. He knows how to play football, how to bake, how to paint, but he doesn't know much about shopping. One could argue that he hates shopping almost as much as Katniss did, but she doesn't seem to be hating it right now.

"Let's go in here," he hears Johanna say, and he watches her duck into a popular clothing store. Katniss and Cinna follow dutifully, and Peeta trudges in after them, pretending to be interested. He glances at Katniss's backside a few times and looks at a jacket on the display, idly touching the sleeve.

"Try it on."

He turns around to see Cinna standing nearby, his hands folded primly behind his back. He smiles and his eyebrows raise.

"I think you'll rock it, honestly," Cinna continues, looking over Peeta from head to toe. Peeta blushes and tugs on the jacket sleeve, feeling the smooth leather between his fingers. "Might as well get some new jeans, too, something that makes your ass look better than _those_."

Peeta feels himself turning bright red. He's not sure whether to be embarrassed about his ratty jeans or Cinna's unabashed mention of his ass.

"He's messing with you," Katniss says from behind him. He looks over his shoulder at her as she rocks back on her heels. Her eyes move downwards. "Well, mostly." Peeta huffs, and Katniss laughs brightly before she says seriously, "I agree about the jacket, though."

"Okay," he says, and takes one off the rack. "Why do they have jackets out in the summer, though?"

"Preseason," Cinna says, and he turns and strides away. Peeta turns his back to the other boy, looking instead to Katniss. He shrugs into the jacket and spreads out his arms so she can see how it fits.

Katniss nods. "I like it."

"Good," he says, swiftly taking it off and walking towards the register. Katniss almost trips over her feet trying to keep up, latching onto his hand and sliding her fingers through his. Then he slows for her, smiling when she squeezes his palm.

Peeta doesn't really go into any more stores with them, unless it's a movie store, or that weird trinket shop next to the Burlington Coat Factory. Cinna teases him about Dick's Sporting Goods and Johanna says he needs a haircut, but when they eat lunch in the foot court, Katniss holds his hand under the table and keeps nudging his leg.

After lunch, Peeta discovers his two mall-related weaknesses. Art stores and jewelers. Art stores is the obvious one—he buys a new set of paintbrushes, some oil pastels, and a paint-by-number for Katniss. The jewelers, however, he only has to glance at. It isn't that he wants to look, it's what he knows they carry. Rings, rings, rings, and Peeta, being himself, is very interested in the significance of rings.

Of course he's not actually ready to marry Katniss—he's not even twenty yet, and she just turned nineteen in May—but seeing jewelers shops makes him think about it. He is tempted, so tempted to just buy a ring and keep it hidden somewhere, so sure that he'll still have use for it in a year, or two, or seven. But he doesn't. He keeps walking.

Maybe someday he won't keep walking.

* * *

Driving home from the mall, the back seat is cluttered with shopping bags. Peeta's jacket and art supplies and his Michelangelo book. The top Katniss bought at one store and the top she bought at a different store, as well as an orange sundress that she only tried on because Peeta said he liked the color.

It looked better on her than it did on the hanger.

"I don't want to go home," says Katniss, so Peeta doesn't take her home. Instead, they go to the bakery. For some reason, he always takes her to the bakery.

It's the same as always. The door jingles as they walk in and Peeta's brother looks up from whatever he's doing, and seeing that it's only them, he waves half-heartedly with the pen in his hand. Regular customers greet Peeta and Katniss by name, and Peeta slides behind the counter to retrieve the cheese buns that they always have. He likes how familiar it feels, and he knows that Katniss likes what's familiar.

She drums her fingers on the counter as he puts cheese buns in the bag, and he smiles up at her through the glass. Beautiful.

Walden removes the pen cap from his mouth to very casually shove it in Peeta's ear. Peeta recoils, nearly dropping the cheese buns as he scrambles to remove the saliva-covered object from his ear.

"AGH. Dude. That's disgusting," he says, throwing the pen cap back and rubbing his ear. Katniss is laughing and gasping for breath, leaning against the bakery case and holding her side. Peeta puts the cheese buns on the counter and continues to look disgusted—he can still feel the dampness in his ear, and it seems as if it's going to seep into his brain. It's just like any wet-willy he's gotten from his brother, but it's not, because Katniss has witnessed it. It's not just gross, it's embarrassing.

She keeps laughing, and he feels himself turning red.

"Walden, keep your spit to yourself or so help me I will thake that pen cap," Peeta pauses emphatically and points to where the pen cap fell on the floor behind the counter, "and shove it up your ass."

Katniss manages to calm herself, and she wipes her watering eyes. "I love you guys. Come on, Peeta, we don't have time to threaten him. We have cheese buns to eat!" She throws up her arms and begins to waltz out of the bakery, and Peeta grabs the bag to hurry after her. She's fucking adorable, he thinks, as she wrestles the bag away from him and pushes outside into the hazy, sticky summer air. They cross the park to his house, and she nibbles on the pastries the whole way.

As they pass the Skylark in the driveway, Peeta affectionately pats the hood. Then they head into the empty house, settling in the living room to watch whatever's on.

Peeta doesn't get many cheese buns before they're gone, nothing more than a dusting of crumbs across their laps and the couch cushions and in the bottom of the bag. That's okay, though, he didn't expect that she'd save many for him. She never does.

This familiarity is beautiful, because even though they do the same things all the time, it never gets old. Peeta will never get tired of Katniss's cheese bun addiction, or the way she laughs, and he'll never get tired of watching her unbraid her hair so that it falls around her shoulders. He'll never tire of the warmth that she keeps hidden behind icy grey eyes, because it's such an honor that she lets him feel it, and he'll never get tired of the curve of her lips as she smiles.

She is sunshine, and she is summer, and she is his bright little puzzle piece.

"I love you," he says, because he does.

"I love you, too," says Katniss, and she kisses him, and he feels the sun streaming into his always-open heart.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Hey guys! I was sad about finishing my long Everlark fic, so I came up with this little story. I hope you liked it, and I'll be posting the second part pretty soon. **

**If you're interested, you should check out the fic that this story takes place after. It's called ****_Where Her Heart Should Be_****, and it also has an outtake called ****_Observations and Explorations_****_._**

**Uhm, yeah, so all the characters belong to Suzanne Collins. Yeah. **

**Song reference: **

_She's nothing short of lovely:_** Love in a Box, by The Workday Release**


	2. Surprises

Peeta looks up as she swings into the kitchen, a cheese bun in one hand and her cell phone in the other. The motherly way she speaks into it gives away all: it is Prim on the other end. Despite it being her sophomore year at Duke, Katniss is still overly concerned. He hears her follow the same unwritten script as always—"Did you eat breakfast? Breakfast is important, Prim. Are you studying? Are you sleeping well? How are your classes?" and so on. He can hear Prim's muffled replies as well, as he twists the dough into pretzel shapes.

"Pretzels?" asks Katniss from where she sits, far from any of the actual baking being done. She's also overly concerned about her long hair getting into the food or something. She hangs up the phone and tucks it in her pocket.

"Cinnamon sugar pretzels," Peeta says. "Trying something new."

She nods and tucks one foot under her on the stool, letting her other leg just dangle there. Peeta turns back to the dough, knowing that she's watching him and smiling under her gaze. She has always stared brazenly when she thought he wasn't looking, and at first, it made him blush. Now it just makes him smile, like almost everything she does. It has been almost six years, and so much has happened, so much has changed, but he loves her the same.

Even more puzzle pieces have fallen into place. He'll never have the full puzzle—he doesn't even believe in the full puzzle of ceaseless happiness and security, only that you can strive for as many pieces as possible.

"So," says Katniss, when he finally slides his pretzels into the oven. "When are you closing today?"

Business hours at the Mellark Bakery have never been predetermined. Hired employees technically have allotted shifts, but Peeta and his father are lenient. Opening and closing times are different every day because they open when they can and close when they have to leave, and since it's always been that way, the town is used to it. Today, Sunday, Peeta was planning to work until six or seven, but he was perfectly willing to leave his dad in charge if Katniss wanted him for something.

"Don't know. But I can leave whenever, since Dad is coming in within the hour and Delly will probably stay until closing—she's a workaholic, I tell you," says Peeta as he straightens, brushing his hands off on his apron. He then runs his hand through his hair, dispersing flour particles. "Why?"

Katniss sighs and checks her phone.

"My mom wants to come to the apartment and have dinner with us," she shakes her head. "Since she hasn't seen it yet. I tried to tell her that there's nothing impressive about it, but she insisted."

Peeta laughs, because their apartment is actually very nice, but for the month that they've lived there, they haven't cooked dinner once. They ate at the bakery, at the Mellark house, at Everdeen cottage and they've had takeout and microwave dinners that take more time to heat than it says on the box.

"Unless your mother wants leftover sesame chicken," he says, "we will have to go grocery shopping."

Katniss's attitude towards shopping has improved since that first year, but she still wrinkles her nose. He figures that she just doesn't want to go out of her way, and that when they actually go to the store, she'll be rifling through coupons and jogging down aisles and demanding that they buy one type of cereal over another. The coupons she gets in the mail cover the kitchen counter at home, though there's quite a few that they haven't used and quite a few that they never will use, at least not before the expiration date.

"Well, we know people with babies, don't we?" she said one morning when he asked her why she was cutting out a coupon for diapers. She does the same thing with pet products and other things they don't need. Shopping is a game of bargains to Katniss.

At 4:40, Peeta puts away his apron and shook most of the flour out of his hair, and Katniss takes a phone call from work. She says it'll last only a minute, but really, there is enough time for Mr. Mellark to take over the kitchen and start bakding, and there is enough time for Peeta to have a short conversation with Delly at the counter. Katniss makes faces while she talks about the more sciencey part of her job, telling somebody where to find a certain plant and what the results should be. She speaks confidently, because she knows her shit, and Peeta wonders how that park ever functioned well without Katniss as a ranger.

She finishes her call and Peeta says goodbye to Delly, and they leave. Her car is parked at the curb, where Peeta's is in the driveway of his father's house. The old VW coughs and sputters when Katniss turns the key, but it still runs, surprisingly. Peeta is sure that she's going to break down for good pretty soon, but Katniss still has faith in the rusty little car. It is a piece of her childhood, the car she played in growing up, and the car that Gale Hawthorne taught her to drive in because her father couldn't. It is the car that drove them to their first date and the car that drove her to the hospital on the day of the accident that killed Finn.

He won't admit it, but he also hopes that the Beetle will soldier on.

They drive to the grocery store and she parks as close to the entrance as she can. She instructs him to grab a cart and follow her, because of course, she is the one with the coupons in her purse. They weave in and out of aisles and she consults her coupons before putting anything in the cart, and after that, she consults the list of ingredients that they need for dinner. She decided on the way to the store that they would have her mother's favorite dish—mushroom herb chicken, Peeta's special recipe. Peeta doesn't mind, since he really likes that dish too.

Once finished, they check out and head home. There are two apartment complexes in town and they live in the one that's only a few streets over from the bakery. There are three floors and they live all the way up and down the hall—so it's quite a walk when carrying groceries, even though they take the elevator up. Peeta has to set down his bags to unlock the door, and then he holds it open for Katniss before going inside himself. They both deposit the bags on their little dining table and begin to unload.

The apartment opens right into the living room and dining room area, and then there's a kitchen to one side of that. Since they're in the corner of the building, they have windows in the bedrooms and in the living room, overlooking the next door and the street below. The two bedrooms and bathroom branch right off the space, and none of it is particularly spacious or luxurious, but it's cozy.

And messy. Katniss scrambles to clean as Peeta unloads the groceries and starts too cook, so the meal will be about halfway done by the time Mrs. Everdeen arrives.

"HER CAR IS IN THE PARKING LOT," exclaims Katniss as she leans out the window. Then she pops back in and looks at Peeta, who is calmly mashing potatoes. "Why isn't dinner ready?"

"If you wanted it to be ready in time, you should've chosen something that takes less time to make," he says politely, still mashing. "And why are you so worried about your mother's first visit to our apartment? It's not like you've moved into some stranger's den of iniquity."

"I took her bird clock," she says.

"Pardon?"

"I took the clock with the bird on it before I moved out. That's not why," she explains, walking over. "Change your shirt."

He thinks she's being very odd, but he asks her to finish mashing the potatoes and goes to change his shirt anyway. Their bedroom is in disarray, like someone rifled through it, looking for something. He narrows his eyes, suspicious, but he easily brushes it off and finds the nice blue dress shirt that Katniss likes. He changes and reemerges, just as there is a knock on the door.

Showtime.

"I'll open the door when you tell me why you're freaking out," says Peeta, blocking Katniss's way out of the kitchen. She tries to get past him, but he doesn't let her. "Don't tell me you stole another piece of your mother's furniture that I don't know about."

"Of course not."

"Okay," he nods. "So what is it then?"

Katniss gives up on trying to make him move and steps back, standing in the middle of the kitchen and crossing her arms. The knocking outside stops. Perhaps she thinks she has the wrong apartment. Peeta frowns because he hates to keep Mrs. Everdeen waiting. Katniss doesn't even look like she's going to give it up—she just stares at him, not scathingly or nervously. If her expression fell into any category, he'd say it was calculating or cautious, weighing her options.

Now he's concerned.

"Are you pregnant?" he blurts, because it's the first thing he thinks of. He immediately turns red afterwards and covers his face with his hand. "That was…I'm sorry. There's nothing wrong with…I mean you shouldn't be worried…um…"

"Yes."

"What."

"Yes, I'm pregnant. I was going to wait and tell you when she was here," says Katniss. But she still looks conflicted. "Um. Yeah."

He nods and turns to go get the door, unsure how to process this information. She grabs his arm, holding tightly, squeezing his hand.

"I also know about this," she says, and he feels the weight of something in his palm.

His hand closes around the little box and he knows immediately what it is. He remembers the day he bought it, the day he was looking for something to give to her as a graduation present. He settled on a bracelet with little flowers and leaves linked together, pale yellow gems in the middle of each cluster of petals, and he was about to pay for it when something else caught his eye. It was the ring display, of course, and Peeta, being himself, is very interested in the significance of rings.

Now, he turns around, looking down at the box in his hand. "How?" he croaks, without looking at her. He can't look at her. He's had this for _years_ and she never knew, and now she does. He doesn't know if he should be embarrassed or not.

"Walden."

That's right, he had told Walden and Cap last year at the wedding, when he'd had a glass of champagne. Katniss was dancing with the bride and winking in their direction, and Walden made a comment about how funny it would be if Peeta's future bride stole away his present one. Somehow, he thought it'd be wise to let slip about the ring that he didn't even plan to use anytime soon. Idiot.

"Fucking Walden," he grumbles.

"Yeah," she says, and he looks up. She glances almost imperceptibly at the door, where her mother is waiting. "Look, Peeta, we don't have to talk about any of this right now…"

She trails off and looks at her feet, and then she leaves him in the kitchen with the ring box in his hand. He stands there as she opens the door and apologizes to her mother. He listens to Mrs. Everdeen complimenting their home and saying that the bird clock looks better in their living room than it ever did in hers. He doesn't move when Katniss slips back into the kitchen to check on dinner, and her mother looks on, equal parts interested and concerned. He must look catatonic, he thinks.

"Peeta, honey, are you all right?" asks Mrs. Everdeen. He snaps out of it to reply with a nod, and to hide the box in his pocket, out of sight. But not out of mind.

"Yes. Fine," he says, though he isn't sure. He glances at Katniss, who peers into the pan with her back to him, and then he turns back to her mother. Carol Everdeen has become more of a mother to Peeta than his own mother, which honestly didn't take much. His mother is dreadful. He was actually disappointed to see her at Walden and Myra's wedding last year.

"It's not ready," Katniss sighs from the stove. She turns and goes into the living room, and her mother joins her, but Peeta has to stay. Because he's the one cooking. Katniss doesn't even acknowledge him.

Once the food is all cooked, he turns everything off and leaves it to cool. He loudly and politely excuses himself before heading to the bathroom, and Carol is the only one who looks up.

He dials Walden's number as soon as the door closes behind him. "I hate you," he says when his brother answers.

"What? Oh," Walden seems to realize what he's talking about almost instantly. "Man, you know you were going to pull that big rock out eventually, I just sped things up for you."

"My proposal was supposed to be special, you dickhead," Peeta hisses. "I wanted to wait and come up with something perfect. But instead, she found it because you told her about it. Plus, her mother is here for dinner and I'm hiding in the bathroom. Plus, _she just told me that she's pregnant_."

"Shit. I fucked up, didn't I?" says Walden after a long pause. Peeta groans and leans over the sink, holding himself up with the hand that isn't on his phone. "Well. It's as good a time as any to get down on one knee, don't you think?"

"You. Are. No. Help."

He really, really misses Finn. Finn would know what to do in this situation, and he'd be a lot better at helping Peeta through it than Walden is. Granted, his brother has a point, but it's also his brother's fault that this is so complicated. Part of it is his own fault, because of the ring, and part of it is just fate. No one expected Katniss to get pregnant—they didn't even use condoms that much anymore, and sometimes she would run out of the pill, but they still didn't expect it.

"Look, Myra is calling me," says Walden. Peeta can hear her in the background, so at least he knows his brother is telling the truth. "Good luck, little bro, I hope she says yes."

And with that, he hangs up. Fucking Walden.

Peeta has no choice now but to face them. He steels himself, reaches for the doorknob, takes a deep breath. What is he going to do? What is he going to say? He has no idea. He'll have to wing it. How unnerving it is to be uncertain.

He goes out, finding that they've served themselves and made a plate for him. How nice.

"Thanks," he says, settling down in the dining chair. The ring box feels heavy in his pocket, but he smiles despite it, pretending there's nothing amiss at all. He touches Katniss's hand, and she looks at him, smiling back. It's weak but genuine, and he thinks that its meant to serve as some sort of apology. And just like that, it's all right.

They fall back into place, re-synced, ready and willing to face anything together.

Through dinner, they all make small talk. Peeta will be talking about business at the bakery, but he'll glance at Katniss, his eyes asking "are you going to tell her?" And Katniss will be telling a story about the kids she was teaching at the park, and something in the way she smiles will say that she's thinking about it. Something in the way she looks at him says that she's sorry for keeping it a secret as long as she did, and that she's waiting for him to be sorry for his own secret.

Neither of them is particularly good with words, but they have been in love long enough that they can communicate the simple things without using them at all.

When they're all finished and Peeta is clearing the dishes, Katniss finally turns to her mother. "Since you're here," she says, "Peeta and I have something to tell you."

Peeta leans in the doorway of the kitchen and looks on.

"So," Katniss wrings her hands and shifts in her seat. "Um."

And then he jumps into action. He holds up one hand so Katniss doesn't say anything else and starts to walk over.

"Before you say anything else, I've been sitting on this for way too long," says Peeta, and he reaches into his pocket, finally, his hand finding the little box and closing around it. He reaches the table and pulls her chair out so that she's facing him when he gets down on one knee, flipping open the little box. "I've had this ring for about two years, because I knew, I knew that someday I would actually get the nerve to do this. So. Katniss. Will you set aside the fact that I hid it in my freaking sock drawer and please, please, marry me?"

"Are you kidding me? Yes. Of course."

He slides the ring onto her finger, finally, and he couldn't be more satisfied with the way she looks at him. He is going to marry Katniss Everdeen, and they're going to have a baby, and it's all going to be brilliant. She stands up and pulls him up with her, pulling his head down to press their mouths together. _She_ is brilliant, his future wife, the mother of his child, the sun in the corner.

"Wow," says Katniss after pulling away. "So we're getting married and having a baby. Please don't tell me you've already gone and bought a house with a white-picket fence."

"A baby?" her mother sputters, overwhelmed by all the information that she's just been presented with. "And you're getting married? Good God, that was…that was abrupt."

"No, not at all," she replies, walking over and hugging her mother tightly. "This is actually exactly what we've all been waiting for, I think."

Peeta can't help but agree.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Well that was fun. Hope you enjoyed it, and that I didn't take it too far...yeah, so tell me what you think in the reviews! **

**Remember, check out the original AU story if you haven't yet! I promise it's good, or so I've been told. **


	3. Dreaming

It will be a simple wedding in the back garden of Everdeen cottage. The reception will take place under a big rented canopy in the field next door, with decorated tables arranged around the dance floor. It was all rented—the chairs, the tables, the bridesmaid's dresses and the groom's tuxedo. And it was all on short notice, since they had chosen a date about four months away from their engagement.

Katniss moves like a whirlwind around the house and the yard, checking the bows on the chairs, the flowers on the trellis that was serving as a backdrop, and rearranging seating arrangements last minute. She would very much like to throw the decorated nameplate of Peeta's mother into the foliage, but instead she sets it on the table that somehow fits all the cousins they invited. Her sister looks on, choosing not to intervene despite the fact that she is the maid of honor and it is her job to make sure Katniss doesn't worry herself to death or anything.

"You okay there?" asks Prim as Katniss pauses in the middle of the dance floor, clipboard in hand, staring off into space.

"What? Oh, I'm fine," Katniss replies, because she is perfectly fine. She is going to be married in a matter of hours, to Peeta, and they'll be dancing right here and cutting cake over there and she feels overcome with nerves about every bit of it because what if something goes wrong? Today is meant to be extremely special, but if she fucks everything up…

"No, you're not," says her sister, getting up from where she's been sitting on the ground and brushing off the back of her jeans. "You're freaking out. How about we go inside for a bit and sit down?"

Katniss nods. She needs to relax, because this isn't supposed to be something she worries nonstop about, it's supposed to be something that she's really excited about. And she is, but her nerves have just been holding it down inside her. She and Prim walk back to the cottage with their arms linked, Katniss's clipboard swinging back and forth as they walk.

Once they reach the kitchen, Prim forces Katniss to sit down and brings her a glass of water. Katniss sips it slowly, feeling the ice cold liquid flowing through her, letting it wash her worries away. Today is special, and it will be special no matter how it plays out, because she is marrying the man she loves. Prim sits down in the seat across from her and rests her forearms on the table. She had her hair done yesterday, golden hair swept up into a braided updo that Katniss almost envies but it had been her choice to go the simpler route, having her mother braid it with flowers like she'd done when the girls were little. It will go nicely with Mom's dress, which was chosen not only because Katniss thought it was silly to spend so much on a dress she'd only wear once, but also because it was easy to alter so that it fit her perfectly.

As the wedding grows nearer, Katniss's nerves come back and she even tries to slip past Prim so she can get one last look at the centerpieces, but she is unsuccessful. Prim tells her that it's all perfect and that she doesn't even have time to worry about it right now, because their mother is outside cutting flowers for her hairstyle and bouquet and Annie and Johanna are already on their way over to help with the final bridal preparations.

When Annie and Johanna do arrive, they help Prim practically drag Katniss into the bedroom that the sisters shared while they were growing up. The Christmas lights still twinkle as Johanna pulls out her enormous makeup kit and Annie flips through Katniss's in-depth wedding plans.

"Katniss Everdeen, I swear to God that if you keep squirming, I am going to take a rolling pin from the kitchen and knock you unconscious," says Jo very harshly as she tries to apply eyeliner. "Then maybe you'll sit still."

"Johanna," Annie admonishes. "That would be awful. Think of the baby."

Johanna looks amused as she pulls back to examine her work. She runs her hand through her messy layered hair, which is she has colored a nice coffee brown for the occasion.

"It would be better if you tied her up," Annie says, her mouth tilting into a smirk. As soft-spoken and grief-stricken as Annie was in the years following the accident, she has gotten much better and she is much happier. She had even been on a few dates, though they didn't amount to anything, at least she had put herself out there.

"You guys," says Katniss, laughing despite herself. "Stop it."

"You stop it," Jo replies and leans back in to continue applying makeup. "You shouldn't be nervous, Kat, it's Peeta. Peeta, the romantic sap that he is, wouldn't care if you walked down that aisle wearing a dress made out of toast. In fact, he'd probably be turned on by that, him being a baker and all."

"Johanna, you are being ridiculous," says Katniss.

"I'm always being ridiculous and inappropriate," she says casually. "I thought you would've noticed by now. Say, is Peeta's other brother, Montague or something. Is he single?"

"It's _Capulet_. Cap for short. Yes, he is single as far as I know, and no, please don't make a move on him," Katniss groans. "He's going to be my brother-in-law."

"I'm going to call him Montague."

* * *

By the time the guests start arriving, Katniss has been in her dress for all of five minutes. Her bridesmaids surround her in their pale green, knee-length, strapless dresses that she picked out herself. They have bows in the back and lacey overlay, and Katniss thinks they're perfect. The little baskets full of flowers that they'll be carrying are lined up on the bed, and the girls themselves look stunning, and she just wants to cry.

"No, no tears until you're up there," says Prim bossily. She shakes Katniss's shoulders and turns her toward the mirror. "Now take a good look at yourself. Aren't you gorgeous?"

Katniss nods and grasps her sister's hand, her other hand smoothing over her belly. The little bump that's barely there is hidden by the flowing fabric. It's a very simple dress, with a halter neckline that shows off a bit of her newly grown cleavage. The embroidery on the top is swirly and intricate and beautiful, and the white flowers in her hair match perfectly. Her bouquet has the same white flowers as well as some yellow ones and the green leaves are peeking through.

Mrs. Everdeen appears in the doorway, and she grin with tears in her eyes.

"You look so beautiful, honey," she says, stepping forward. Katniss opens her arms, welcoming her mother into a warm embrace, trying not to burst into happy tears herself. Mrs. Everdeen, however, just loses it and starts sobbing and mumbling about how her baby is all grown up and getting married. When they finally break apart, she folds Katniss's hands within hers and sniffles. "I am so, so happy for you."

Katniss nods. She can tell.

"Anyway," says her mother, drawing back so she can wipe her eyes and blow her nose. "Nearly all the guests have arrived. It's starting soon, so I have to go and make sure that your groom isn't hiding in the kitchen stuffing his face with hors d'oeuvres."

"He probably is," says Katniss, smiling. She could hear his groomsmen talking through the wall, and he was surely with them. "Get him out there. It's time to get this over with."

Mrs. Everdeen smiled and disappeared into the hallway, and Katniss hears her faintly as she breaks apart the fridge-raiding party in the kitchen and probably pushes Peeta out the back door. When that commotion dies down, Prim peers through the blinds before giving a thumbs up, which means that Peeta is outside and Katniss canfinally venture out of her room.

When she walks out, Cinna rushes forward and hugs her, and then he pulls back to look at her dress, which he hasn't seen until now. She would've made him part of the bridal party if Peeta hadn't been short a groomsman, and now she sees that he probably would've loved assisting her instead.

"You look fantastic, Katniss," he says. "Twirl for me." She does, and he seems immensely satisfied. "You are a stunning bride."

"Thank you," she says softly, wrapping her arms around him again. She feels really emotional. Both Walden and Cap congratulate and compliment her as they arrange themselves in the kitchen, waiting for their queue to head out.

Johanna glides out, arm-in-arm with Cap, despite the fact that she was meant to walk with Cinna. Nobody stops her though, because it's too late to worry about it, and it's Johanna. Everyone knows that Johanna does what she wants. Katniss shifts uncomfortably in the kitchen as the music plays outside, since every person that leaves indicates the little time left before it's her turn to go out and be the center of attention.

Annie doesn't know Cinna very well, but still they link arms like old friends and walk out together. After them, it's Prim and Walden, the maid of honor and best man heading down the aisle to join the cluster of people that are now just waiting for the bride.

And then she prepares herself, gathering her wits, clutching the bouquet. Her engagement ring shimmered in the sunlight as she stepped out the back door. She feels her heartbeat pick up at the sight of Peeta standing there at the end of the aisle, fiddling with his bowtie. The guests have all risen from their chairs to watch her slow progression towards the makeshift altar. She feels almost weightless as she walks, her heart swelling like a balloon with joy and anticipation. She feels every eye trained on her, but it's Peeta's gaze that she holds. He grins and she thinks that she could see that smile every day for a thousand years and it still wouldn't be enough time to bask in his light.

When Katniss finally reaches her groom, she hands Prim her bouquet. Peeta takes her hand and they stand facing one another as the pastor starts the religious part of the ceremony. Katniss listens with only half of her concentration, because Peeta strokes his thumb across the back of her hand, shifts his feet almost imperceptibly, and glances at the ground or possibly her well-filled bodice a few times. He never stops smiling, so Katniss doesn't either.

The time comes for them to read the vows they wrote, and Peeta pulls back to retrieve his paper from Walden, and he holds the smaller of the matching wedding bands in his hand. His vows are neatly printed on yellow legal-pad paper that's been crumbled and spilled-upon…Katniss remembers when he knocked over his coffee while going over them, making sure it was all right.

"Katniss Everdeen, I can't count the number of times I've told you I love you. I can't count the number of times that I've kept myself awake thinking about just how much. It seems like every football game I played, I'd search for you in the stands, and every time I passed you in the hallway, I wanted to stop and say hello. If that Peeta, that young and nervous version of me, knew that someday he would marry you…he would ask you out sooner, so he could have you for a few more blessed years. At least, that's what I like to think," he says. The congregation laughs as Peeta smiles, but they settle quickly before he continues. "Sometimes, loving you still feels like the best dream I've ever had, and I will do all I can to make this dream last. I will be anything you need me to be, because I love you so, so much Katniss. Always."

He slides the ring onto her finger and she wipes away a tear on his cheek. She has seen Peeta cry before, plenty of times, but it has always been in grief or frustration. Never because he was happy. It felt nice, to have him shed tears of joy when he described how glad he was to be marrying her. She felt like her own vows would pale in comparison, but it wasn't like she could just come up with something new.

So Prim hands her the folded up vows, and she opens them, clearing her throat.

"Once, during my junior year and your senior year at UNC Panem, I came down with a nasty case of the flu and I couldn't really do anything for days. When it reached its most horrible point, you just skipped every class you had and spent the day with me, bringing me things and drawing flowers on my feet…anyway, I remember you singing 'You are my sunshine' slightly off key and I remember thinking, _No, you're _my _sunshine_," Katniss's voice wobbles slightly and she grabs onto Peeta's hand. "When I was young, I asked my father if he believed in true love, and he told me that any real love was true love. He said it was any love that you loved with everything you could give, and that, my sweet Peeta, is exactly how I love you. When my dad died, I wasn't sure if I believed love was worth all the hurt it caused, but you made me see the light. Peeta, I cannot tell you how glad I am to call myself your bride and the mother of your child, so I'm just going to put this ring on your finger instead and hope that covers it."

She takes his hand and slides the golden wedding band onto his ring finger.

"Take it as a promise that my love for you won't end, and as a promise that I will always be your wife and you will always be my sunshine."

Katniss is crying now, and she goes to wipe her tears as the pastor nods, giving her time to collect herself before he continues.

"Peeta, do you take Katniss as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," says Peeta, and his grin is blinding.

"Katniss, do you take Peeta as your lawfully wedded husband?" asks the pastor.

"Yes, yes, I do," she says, squeezing Peeta's hands. And she does. Katniss can barely hear him when he pronounces them husband and wife, but she hears the kissing part loud and clear. Peeta leans in, brushing his lips across her and sealing the deal.

* * *

The reception flies by. There are a lot of really touching, heartfelt speeches. There's a lot of really delicious food, since catering was the one thing Katniss was willing to pay a lot for. The music isn't the best ever but the dancing is a blast, with various wedding guests breaking out moves that nobody would've thought they had. Peeta's grandmother iss phenomenal at the Cha-Cha Slide and Rory Hawthorne impresses everyone with his breakdancing skills.

They cut into the cake and smear it all over each other's faces, and the only alcohol is the champagne that Katniss can't drink. Instead she shares sparkling grape juice with all the younger guests and honestly, it tastes better anyway.

There is one bump in the road, when Peeta happens to be passing his mother's table and hears her talking to a cousin, labeling the ceremony a "shotgun wedding". Katniss watches from the dance floor as he retraces his steps, leans over the table to stare his mother in the eye, and asks her very curtly if she can repeat herself.

Of course, she doesn't mind. She never was one to spare Peeta's feelings, even if he's big and scary now.

"You do know what a shotgun wedding is, don't you?" she inquires snarkily, and Peeta stands up so he towers over her, his way of warning her that she won't be able to hurt him anymore.

"Yes. Why, Mother, do you think that this is that?" he says.

"She's pregnant, isn't she? And you feel obligated to marry her because you knocked her up," says his mother matter-of-factly. "It's a textbook case of shotgun wedding."

Peeta clenches his fists, and Katniss rushes forward to pull him away so he doesn't detonate. But he latches onto her tightly and refuses to budge as he glares at his mother, grinds his teeth, and tries to think of something to say in response.

"I didn't ask Katniss to marry me because she was pregnant. I asked her to marry me because I've wanted to marry her for years, and I only just worked up the courage to actually propose," he says. He picks up Katniss's hand and gestures to the engagement ring. "I bought this ring two years ago when she graduated, because even then I knew I was going to marry this girl. Mother, I am in love, and I am happy, and if you don't like it then you should probably just leave now."

She stands up and gathers her things.

"I might as well. By the way, _Mrs. Mellark_," she says scornfully, casting a poisonous glare in Katniss's direction. "Some plant in your overgrown garden has given me a rash. Next time, I advise that you do a bit of trimming before having guests."

"Thank you," Katniss says, her tone sickly sweet. "And goodbye. And don't let the door hit you on the way out."

After his mother officially leaves, Peeta spins his bride out onto the dance floor. He rests his hand on her waist and leans in, whispering, "You know, we're outside. Technically, there isn't a door for her to get hit with."

"Oh, but I have a feeling doors would go out of their way to hit that woman," says Katniss, "whether they are anywhere near her or not."

Peeta chuckles and pulls her close.

"Mrs. Mellark," he says softly, with so much adoration that Katniss completely forgets that his mother said it so rudely before. "Katniss."

"Yes, Peeta?" she asks, tilting her head back to peer up at him.

"I meant what I said," he murmurs, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes as they sway with the music. Katniss feels it flow through her, the melody of the music and the melody of him. "This really does feel like a dream. The best dream. Loving you, having you, marrying you. Even this," he pauses to rest his hand on her stomach, "feels like part of a fantasy. And I am terrified of waking up."

Katniss folds her hand over his. "Oh, but it's real."

"Yes, yes it is," he laughs. And then he smiles so widely that her heart my burst, but she tells it not to because that'd probably be bad for the baby.

He leaves his hand there as they dance, and she feels so blessed. So calm and blessed that she almost doesn't notice the slight spasm under his hand until he's noticed it too.

"Katniss," he says cautiously. "Was that…?"

She is equally as flustered, but she grins all the same. "Yes, yes, it was. She kicked."

"She?" Peeta laughs. "You sound so sure it's a girl."

"Never mind that, our baby just kicked for the first time," says Katniss joyously, clinging to him. "We're married, and we have a baby on the way, and it's so much better than a dream, Peeta. It's _real_."

"Yes, but what if it's a boy?"

* * *

**Author's note: **

**I wasn't going to continue this story, but I really wanted to write their wedding. And I had so much fun doing it, and I hope you think it was as beautiful as I meant it to be...**

**I'll probably be posting another chapter about their married life and whatnot, so we still have that to look forward to! Yay! **

**Tell me how you liked this in the review section! Thanks so much for reading. **


	4. Built on Love

She is accustomed to the screaming. She wakes up to it every other night and feels the immediate compulsion to get up and do something to stop it. It's the same every time she puts the baby down to sleep. Some of the books she's flipped through say that sometimes you have to let them cry, but she has a hard time just walking away and waiting for it to subside. Even if Katniss didn't stay and sing a lullaby, rocking and bouncing until Lily fell asleep, she knows that Peeta would eventually do it himself because he couldn't take the crying any more than she could.

When the wailing begins in the middle of the night, Katniss is awake right away and hurrying across the hall, even when it's supposed to be her husband's turn. She has always been motherly, jumping into action at every sign of distress. First it was Prim, after their father died, and now it was seven-month old Lily. She'd been born in the heat of August and it was utter chaos when they brought her home—Katniss was exhausted, Peeta was terrified that something was wrong every time she made a noise, and they had to call Mrs. Everdeen in just to put the baby to sleep. Since then, they've gotten used to parenthood, but Katniss is still exhausted. Peeta is still constantly concerned. But Lily is worth it.

Everything about her was small when they brought her home, but she's grown so quickly. Lily is the most beautiful baby that Katniss has ever seen, and she's sure that it's not only because she's a product of herself and Peeta. She has a shock of dark hair and blue eyes that have already begun to sparkle like Peeta's, but younger and more innocent. She grabs onto Katniss's hair with little hands, taking comfort in the closeness of her mother.

A baby's love isn't complicated. She will love the people who care for her, the people who come running when she cries. She loves the heartbeat of her mother and the voice of her father, because she could hear them both before she knew them at all. She somehow understands the way they are all connected before she even knows their names or what love is—all that matters to her is herself and her family, because they are all she knows.

* * *

"Momma!" Lily screams as soon as Katniss opens the front door. She comes running down the hallway, surefooted and fast for a three-year-old. Her cousin Sarah, a year younger, stumbles after her. Walden takes up the rear, catching up to the both of them and scooping them up in his arms.

"Uncle Waldo," says Lily, her tone very admonishing. "Put me down. Right now."

"When you say my name right, I'll consider it," he says, and then adjusts her so that she's draped over his shoulder. Sarah wiggles and laughs, and he sets her down on the floor. She sticks around though, because she idolizes Lily and isn't about to leave her stranded. Walden then turns to Katniss. "Where's my brother?"

"In the car, banging his head against the steering wheel," says Katniss grimly. She shakes her head and sighs. Walden looks concerned. "It's nothing to worry about, just a disagreement."

"Don't try and lie to me, Kat," Walden says, and he puts Lily down. She lingers and gazes up at her mother, looking terribly worried. Katniss sighs again.

"Sweetie," she says carefully, crouching so that she's at eye-level with her daughter. "Mom and Dad were just…talking about grown up things and we got a little overexcited. Go play, and I'll call you when it's time to go, okay?"

Lily narrows her eyes and backs away slowly, until she's close enough to the staircase that she can just turn and run up without looking back. Sarah follows dutifully.

"Peeta wants to move," says Katniss as soon as the girls are out of earshot. She looks at Walden, who has seated himself on the big leather sofa that has a protective covering on it, so it squeaks when he moves. "Because of the…well, you know. B-A-B-Y." She spells it out in case Lily is eavesdropping. Lily can't read or spell yet, even though they've all been trying to teach her. She doesn't want to, because she's under the impression that knowing how to read means that her parents won't read bedtime stories to her anymore.

"I don't know why you guys don't just tell her," says Walden, resting his feet on the coffee table and folding his hands. Katniss sits down beside him and the plastic screeches. "She's going to have to know eventually."

"I know, I know," she replies. "I have to find the right way to explain it first."

"Why? Mom's having a baby. Plain and simple."

"She's going to ask why. And how. And probably five million other things," Katniss points out. Walden considers this. His face is utterly unexpressive. "Anyway, Peeta wants to start looking for a house, but…well, houses are expensive."

"This is true," Walden says, nodding.

"If anything, we could move back in with your dad," she says. "But he doesn't want to that, despite the fact that it makes more sense than buying a brand new house."

"Most houses are used. Secondhand, at least."

"Smart aleck," she snaps. Walden chuckles. He's grown a lot warmer since he got married and they had Sarah, and he doesn't have an ounce of bitterness left in him. It seems that as they grow up, the Mellark boys further separate themselves from what their mother always thought of them and what she always said. She still left plenty of scars, but they have all healed over.

Through the front window, she sees Peeta get out of the car and start to wander around the yard, kicking at the leaves on the lawn. He runs his hand through his hair, despite the fact that it's not even very long right now and there isn't much to actually run his hand through. She knows that he's going to come inside momentarily, probably apologize, and then try and put a pin in the subject to save it for later. But she wants to settle it now.

Sure enough, he heads up the front steps and opens the door, the words "Katniss, I'm sorry," already falling from his lips. She nods and gestures to the armchair.

"Sit down. I want to talk about this like a civilized person," she says, "instead of a hormonal pregnant woman."

"Katniss…"

"I'll go check on the girls," says Walden blandly, and he heads upstairs. Leaving them alone.

"My dad wouldn't mind. He loves Lily to bits," says Peeta as he settles into the chair. He's strangely eager to start talking about it again, and Katniss guesses that he never stopped thinking about it after their miniscule spat. "And you. Honestly, he'd be psyched if we were to move in with him. The house is big enough for all of us."

"I sense that you're about to tell me why you still don't want to."

"Well, you're probably psychic," says Peeta. He gets up and joins her on the squeaky couch, taking her hand in his. "I do not want to move in with my father any more than you want to move back into your mother's house, for similar reasons. That place harbors a lot of memories, good and bad, but it's mostly because it wouldn't be _ours._ I want to move our family to some place we can call our own, you and me and Lily and Baby."

She smiles. "Well…"

"We have savings. Great credit. And there's plenty of houses for sale in town," he says. "I'm not going to force you, but I just want to make you see my point of view, okay? If you don't want to do this, then we won't. Moving in with my dad would be our compromise."

Katniss holds his hand sits there thinking on it. He has a point.

"Let's do it," she says, and then her free hand folds over her belly. "Something with a backyard and enough bedrooms for all four of us. If it's in Collins Village, doesn't cost a fortune and is move-in ready, I'll be happy with it. Because it'll be with my family."

Peeta grins, and her heart leaps. They've been married for three years now, and he can still make her feel like that.

She pulls him close and kisses him hard, and then she says, "When can we start?"

* * *

It was her first day back at work since the baby was born in May. In the morning, she dragged herself out of bed and put on her uniform, which didn't seem to fit right. Her hat was sitting on a stack of unpacked boxes in the living room and Peeta was in the kitchen flipping pancakes and rearranging the cupboards.

Then Davy started to cry. They had named him after Katniss's father, but David seemed like a very grown up name for a baby, so for now they just called him Davy. Peeta dropped a set of pots and pans and they clattered loudly to the floor, Lily woke up and immediately bolted from her room to dart down the stairs. She wasn't about to miss the opportunity to say "Momma, don't go!"

Katniss headed back upstairs and passed Lily on her way to the nursery. Peeta had painted it like a beach, with rolling waves and a sunset, despite the fact that Davy was hardly old enough to appreciate it yet. Her son was squirming and crying in his crib, and she scooped him up, bouncing on her feet as he wailed into her shoulder and grabbed at her collar. When it was about time for her to leave, Peeta finally walked in, smeared with pancake batter, and took the baby from her.

"I've got him," he'd said. "Now go to work."

And all day, she'd wondered if Davy was screaming in her absence, or if Peeta was pulling out his hair in chunks because he had both of them to deal with on his own. When she'd gone back to work after Lily was born, Katniss was constantly checking in and getting scolded by her coworker Abernathy, a former alcoholic with nicotine patches up his arm. This time she tried to be more relaxed, and got through the day without calling Peeta more than once.

As she pulls into the driveway, Katniss admires the house that they still are adjusting to. They had just finished with the complicated process of buying it when Davy decided to pop out, which delayed the renovating that Peeta wanted to do. They only just moved in a week or so ago, hence the boxes that were still piled up. It is somewhat small, with just the three bedrooms upstairs and a living room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor. It is also somewhat colonial-looking with big bushes in the front and a white-picket fence. The color is a deep green and the trim is white and Katniss absolutely loves it.

She's just afraid of what she's going to find when she walks inside.

She treks across the front yard and onto the stone path that leads up to the door, pausing before she steps onto the prickly little welcome mat they have. She wipes off her boots and pulls out her keys, though honestly, the door probably isn't locked. Nothing happens in Collins Village that makes people want to lock their doors when they are home. Plus, Peeta could've easily forgotten, what with crazy Lily and colicky Davy taking up his attention. Sure enough, when she turns the knob, the front door opens smoothly.

She steps into the house and expects chaos. She expects to hear Lily running between rooms, reciting words to the theme song of some TV show. She expects Davy to be crying again and Peeta to be frazzled and walking around with him. She expects that she'll end up staying home another week, or another month, or that she'll have to ask one of the grandparents or Walden to babysit.

But it isn't what she expects. It's quiet and peaceful, and as she wanders around the first floor, she finds that it's empty. Peeta cleaned up after making breakfast, and after that, lunch. It seemed that he had also unpacked the boxes labeled TOWELS and UPSTAIRS CLOSET. She wanders, puzzled, before finally heading up the stairs to look for her family. Lily's room is empty, she realizes when she pokes her head in, and so is hers and Peeta's.

They are all in Davy's nursery.

Peeta sits in the chair in the corner, his head slumped to the side and his eyes closed. The way his chest rises and falls, she can tell that he's asleep. Lily, wearing her firefighter costume from Halloween last year, is curled up in his lap sucking her thumb. Her dark hair is braided like her mother's, and Katniss remembers that Peeta learned how to braid years ago when she broke her arm and he had to do it for her. The hat that goes with the costume is on the floor next to Peeta's feet, and when Katniss peers into the crib, she sees baby Davy calmly asleep.

Happiness swells inside her.

She crouches beside the chair and brushes Peeta's curls out of his eyes. She didn't think this would wake him, but he stirs and his eyes flutter open, as blue and lively as they always have been, and as youthful too. She has a feeling that his eyes are always going to be like that, just the same way as hers have always seemed older than she is.

"Oh, hey," he says softly, adjusting Lily in his lap. He peers over her shoulder to peek at Davy through the bars of his crib. "I didn't hear you come home."

"How did you do it? On your own, I mean?" she asks. "I could never…"

Peeta laughs. "We gave Davy a bath, and that puppet thing that Lily never took to? He loves it. Plus, we let him just sit there on the carpet for a while, babbling and playing with Lily's old toys…"

"I asked how you got them to relax," she says, chuckling.

"I'm getting there," he replies. "And Lily and I played firefighter for a while. Eventually, Davy seemed sleepy, so we brought him up here and I guess me and this one were pretty sleepy too."

"You must be some sort of miracle worker."

"Nah," Peeta shakes his head. "Just plain old dad. Trust me, it will be a long time before things go this smoothly again."

He adjusts Lily again, and she mumbles something in her sleep. He stands up with her, and Katniss walks with him as he carries their daughter to her room. Once she's in bed, Katniss puts her hat on her dresser and turns out the light, and both of them quietly leave, closing the door behind them.

"I always knew you would make a great father," she whispers as they linger outside Lily's bedroom.

"And I always knew you'd be a great mom," says Peeta. "I think everyone knew."

"Come on, no they didn't," she says, blushing. He shakes his head, because he means it, and he leans in to kiss her. Katniss wraps her arms around him and kisses back, grinning when he finally pulls away. "Peeta…"

"Yes, wifey?"

"Oh my God shut up."

"I love you too," he says. She smiles, because that was exactly what she was going to tell him. That she loves him. She can never, ever tell him enough. She is that thankful for the life he has given her, for the family they have built together. Every day she wakes up to him and their beautiful children, and she is so, so grateful for every moment she can spend with them. Even when Lily drives her crazy and Davy wakes them in the middle of the night, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I love you," she says, and holds him close. Quietly she hums a tune in his ear, and the lyrics float around in her head. _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…you'll never know dear, how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away…_

* * *

Lily was always a firecracker. The attitude was strong in her from the moment she learned what the word no meant, maybe even before. It seems that as she grows older, she continues to have one ultimate goal: to infuriate her mother.

"Lily Caroline!" Katniss hollers as she runs up the stairs after her twelve-year-old daughter. The door to Lily's bedroom slams, and when she gets there and tries to open it, she finds that the girl has jammed it with chair. "Oh my God, are you serious? Are you freaking serious, Lily?"

"Katniss," says Peeta, standing at the bottom of the stairs. She know what he's thinking. _Leave her be, she'll calm down._ But she doesn't believe that. She pounds on the door.

"Lily, we'll be late," she snaps. "I don't care if you enjoy it, it's a family tradition and you're going to go so it's not ruined for the rest of us."

"It's fucking stupid, Mom," Lily yells through the door, and this makes Katniss angrier. She almost wants to start cursing herself, but Davy has joined his father by the staircase and she isn't about to put words like that into his head. "The only people who go are like, a hundred."

The event in question is the annual tree-lighting ceremony in the square, and ever since Katniss was little, her family has attended every one. Even when her mother was too busy, she would bundle up Prim and they'd walk through town to get there, and then there'd be hot cocoa at the bakery and Christmas carols that Katniss only hummed along to. The only one she ever missed was the day Peeta found out that Finn was being taken off life support—neither of them were in the mood for holiday cheer that evening, and instead spent the night huddled in his attic bedroom, listening to the carols through the window and feeling numb.

Katniss is determined that her children don't miss a year while she still has the reins. Lily has given her trouble about loads of things in the past: she's not going to back down just because of a few angry words. She knows how to deal with her daughter more than she knows how to deal with anyone, with the exception of her closest family members.

"It's Christmas!" she says, jiggling the doorknob. "Do you want to ruin this for the rest of us? For your brother? What about Aunt Prim, Grandma, Grandpa? They all want to see you there."

Lily says nothing, and the volume of the music within the bedroom increases gradually. She could list all the relatives and other townsfolk that would notice Lily's absence, and it still wouldn't help her get Lily out of there. She doesn't know whether she should change her tactics, because the sentimentalism of it isn't going to get the girl out of her room. Katniss heaves a sigh and weighs her options. She could still bribe Lily into doing it, or she could threaten her with some sort of punishment if she doesn't.

It occurs to her after a moment that she doesn't want that—she doesn't want Lily to go because of bribery or threats. She wants Lily to go because it's something she wants them to do as a family, and something they have always done as a family. She wants her to go because to her, it means the beginning of Christmas, her favorite time of year simply because she gets to spend so much of it with her favorite people in the world—her family. Katniss's family has grown significantly since she was young, within her household and outside of it. Walden and Myra had another daughter, Monica, and Prim is married now with five-year-old twins. Cap and Johanna are still engaged in the longest on and off relationship that Katniss has ever witnessed and everything is going brilliantly for everyone she loves.

Except Lily, being a sourpuss. Everyone tells her that it's just a phase, and that it's how most girls act at that age. She doesn't recall Prim or herself going through any phase so vicious, but then, her relationship with her mother was practically nonexistent when she was Lily's age. She had Prim to think about—being a caretaker and a role model didn't allow for such venomous tendencies.

"Katniss," Peeta calls up. "Maybe we should just leave her. She's made it very clear—"

"Fine," Katniss says curtly. She turns on her heel and strides away from the door. "I just hope she changes her mind before we leave in five minutes." She makes her way down the steps and starts looking for Davy's winter coat because he can't keep track of it himself. She finds it wedged between the couch cushions in all its bright orangeness, and then hands it off to her son. She watches him pull out the sleeves, since it's inside out when she first gives it to him, and she watches him put it on and dig through the pockets for his gloves.

"They're not here," he says, looking up at her with his big grey eyes, just a shade lighter than her own. Her little boy has the temperament that Prim did when she was his age, and his grandfather's musical inclination, and Peeta's smile. She thinks Lily is too much like her, with stubbornness and fire, and she finds that Davy is like everyone else, her loved ones that are both alive and departed. She couldn't be prouder of him, despite the fact that he has lost another pair of gloves.

"Again?" she asks, smiling. Davy frowns. He looks at his snow boots, which are too big on him so he has to wear extra socks. He loses gloves every year, and even though they usually turn up eventually, he's still ashamed. He's nine and has always had trouble with misplacing his belongings—Peeta jokes that they should just invest in some string to tie anything to him that they don't want him to lose. "That's okay. We have extra pairs in the front closet."

Davy nods and runs off to rifle through the stash of gloves and scarves and hats that Katniss keeps just in case. She looks on, the tension from arguing with Lily flowing out of her as she admires the child that's still growing up to fast. She worries that he'll develop an attitude like his sister, or that he'll go through so many changes that he'll barely be the same kid anymore. Peeta comes up behind her, putting his gloved hand on her shoulder.

"They're really good kids," he reminds her. "Both of them."

She nods. She knows that Lily has a good heart, and a good head on her shoulders. She just wishes it was easier. She also realizes that it's enough of a miracle that she has the chance to raise them both, the great kids that they are. Katniss knows of enough people who didn't and would love to—her father, who died much too early in her life, and Finn Odair, who was gone before the chance to have children presented itself.

Parenthood comes with its inconveniences, but she will never think of it as a burden, or something she wasn't meant to do. It is her life, the life she never really dreamed of having, but is good enough that she sometimes worries it's just a really vivid fantasy.

And she really thinks she's dreaming when Lily trudges down the stairs and grabs her coat off the back of a dining room chair.

The Mellarks depart in their ridiculous red minivan and drive to the town square, where cars are driving around in circles looking for a parking spot and people are waiting at the curb for a chance to cross. Peeta pulls into his father's driveway. When they cross to the square, Katniss holds tightly onto Davy's hand and Peeta holds the other, something they have always done. Once upon a time, Lily would participate as well, but today she just walks ahead as if she doesn't want to be associated with them.

"Why is Lily so nasty?" asks Davy, wrinkling his nose. Lily glares over her shoulder as she reaches the curb and starts navigating the path towards the center of the square.

"That's not a nice thing to say," Peeta scolds, but Katniss just laughs.

"I don't know why she's acting that way," she says. "It's not very nice, is it?"

Davy shakes his head, causing curls of blond to fall in his eyes. They reach the square and Katniss brushes the hair away. Peeta smiles at her motherly gestures as she adjusts the little boy's hat and scarf. She just wants him to be warm, like anyone would.

"I think she just needs Christmas cheer," Davy decides as they start walking again. "And some hot chocolate. How can you be mean when you have hot chocolate?"

"I think you're right," says Katniss, squeezing his hand. The tree looms ahead, covered in unlit bulbs and vibrantly colored ribbons. There's a star on top the size of Davy's head and a sign in front of it, rooted into the ground. Also unlit, it reads HAPPY HOLIDAYS in letters that will soon be flashing red and green.

The three of them catch up to Lily, much to her dismay. Soon after, Prim shows up with her boys and Walden shows up with Monica sitting on his shoulders. Myra and Sarah are in the bakery getting things ready, he says, and it occurs to Peeta that he should join them. He goes, striding across the snow.

In the moments before the ceremony starts, Lily just stands there sourly as kids run around her and her mother makes small talk. Davy looks increasingly concerned. When Katniss takes a moment to ask him what's the matter, he just shakes his head and pulls away from her. He hurries over to where his sister is standing a few yards away, and he tugs on her sleeve to get her attention.

Katniss stands back and watches. She can't hear what he says over the wind and the continuing chatter of the townspeople around her, but the way he looks at Lily reminds her of when he was even littler and he idolized her. She was his big sister and one of the most amazing people in the world, and he loved her.

She thinks that maybe Lily will just shake him off, growl at him to go away like she tends to do. But then she doesn't. Instead, as the speakers crackle and the mayor stands on the makeshift stage beside the tree with a button in hand, Lily reaches out for her little brother's hand and holds it in her own.

Katniss remembers when they brought Davy home and Lily was so fascinated with him that she wouldn't leave him alone. She remembers the stepstool she dragged into the nursery to stand on and lean over the edge of the crib, just to watch him sleep. She was so excited when she first held him, when she first felt his hand wrap around her finger…Katniss smiles when she thinks about it, the look on her daughter's face when she realized how precious Davy really was.

The tree comes to life, the colored lights flickering on and the star slowly warming until it casts an ethereal glow. Davy looks as awed as ever, and Lily holds his hand almost as tight as Katniss did when they were crossing the street.

When the caroling starts, Davy drags her back over to their mother and together, they start to sing. When the bakery fills up with people in need of hot chocolate and cookies, Lily is gracious and helpful as she stands behind the counter and helps Peeta serve them. She has her own steaming cup of hot chocolate near the cash register, and occasionally she will take a sip and smile softly.

Davy and Katniss watch from their table at the front of the bakery. He warms his hands with his beverage and gets frosting on his fingers from the snowflake sugar cookie he has. Katniss is constantly pushing his hair back, telling him he should probably let her cut it when they get home. He doesn't seem to care at all, as he is preoccupied with dipping his cookie into his hot chocolate.

"I told you," he says with his mouth full.

"What?"

Davy swallows and points at his sister, who smiles as she greets Johanna and hands her a snowman cookie.

"I told you that it's impossible to be mean when you have hot chocolate. See?" He looks back at his mother with his bright, youthful eyes to see that she is nodding.

"It seems that she's been cured," she says. "And all it took was Christmas cheer and hot chocolate."

When they finally pull into their driveway and Peeta turns off the car, it is nearly midnight. Katniss turns to look at the strangely quiet back seat, and she is not surprised to find that they have both fallen asleep. Davy's hat is pulled down over his eyes and Lily's ponytail is crooked. Their gloves lay in a pile on the floor, and their fingers are loosely intertwined.

"I almost don't want to wake them," she whispers to Peeta, who looks over his shoulder and smiles.

"Neither do I."

"How did we do it?" she wonders. "How did we make such a beautiful family?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he replies. He reaches for her hand, and even as the cold starts to seep into the car, neither of them makes a move to get out or wake the children. "All of this is built on love, Katniss. You decided to allow yourself to fall in love with me, all those years ago…and it ultimately led us here. We would not have this life if you hadn't."

She kisses him lightly and looks back to the children dozing in the backseat.

"It was the best decision I ever made."


End file.
